Over 50,000 para-legal volunteers to help bring justice to people’s doorstep

Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the volunteers would associate themselves with Community Service Centres established at the gram panchayat level, so they can help the needy connect with district legal aid lawyers through video conferencing.

indiaUpdated: Apr 30, 2017 10:23 IST

HT Correspondent Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed that digital technology has already helped the government plug several leakages in welfare schemes.(PTI photo)

Over 50,000 para-legal volunteers (PLV) will be enlisted in the NDA government’s ambitious project of delivering justice at people’s doorstep through digital technology, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday.

Speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day workshop for PLVs, Prasad claimed that digital technology has already helped the government plug several leakages in welfare schemes. “(Providing) quick access to justice and (ensuring) trust in justice are integral to democracy,” he said, adding that technology can open the doors of legal aid for the marginalised.

The law minister said the PLVs would associate themselves with Community Service Centres (CSCs) established at the gram panchayat level, so they can help the needy connect with district legal aid lawyers through video conferencing.

National Legal Services Authority chairman Justice Dipak Misra said the panel, along with all state legal services agencies, had nominated lawyers to provide free legal assistance to those approaching them through CSCs.

Appreciating the efforts put in by PLVs, Chief Justice JS Khehar said they would help hitherto hapless citizens benefit from the legal system by alleviating their “suffering and injustice”. He called for regular assessment of their work for administration of effective justice.

Justice Misra asked PLVs to educate the destitute, elderly, students and victims of crime on their legal rights, besides increasing their outreach and carrying out systemic campaign awareness.